Letters from the Issue of September 25,2008

Poor Mr. Cabrera: Tim Elfrink's story "The Hand of Justice" (September 18) is really sad. At least Julio Cabrera is free to live in his home and talk to the media to express his concerns. Think about the thousands who are tossed in jail for the minutest of infractions and considered deportable. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) people know who among those they detain are really deportable, yet they prefer to keep people in long-term detention while their cases linger in court. This costs taxpayers money.

In the end, those who have committed minor and often nonviolent crimes will get out of detention with the help of attorneys. So why keep them there at huge expense to the taxpayer? Can't our system use ankle bracelets and other monitoring methods, or do we insist on imprisoning nonviolent criminals so we can talk about the thousands in detention and the wonderful service ICE provides?

This is a sad state of affairs. We, the nation that is considered the leader of the Western world, tend to use draconian practices to conduct the business of justice. May God bless us.

Joyce Noronha

Ormond Beach

Scofflaw Mr. Cabrera: After reading your article about Julio Cabrera's hand problem, I must fill in a few blank spaces. He was, and still is, an illegal immigrant. He entered a new country and effectively told the immigration services: "I don't care about your laws; catch me if you can." When he crossed the Mexican border into the United States, he became illegal. When he married his wife, he was illegal. When he had three kids, he was illegal. Why is Mr. Cabrera complaining?

He had an accident and he's receiving money just to sit at home. Mr. Bush wasn't thinking of being president when his immigration problems began back in 1987. My advice to Mr. Cabrera: Relax, thank God and this great country for what you have, go to Jackson Memorial, and pay for your medical expenses little by little (like everybody else).

Nelson Rodriguez

Doral

Making Monkeys

Of Fried: In response to "Monkey Mafia" by Gus Garcia-Roberts (September 18): The event where Glenn Fried ran into Mayor Paul Vrooman had to be Founders Day, which is sponsored by the town. Why would the mayor or anyone else who runs the town invite Fried to participate if they were out to get him? Fried's neighbors turned him in; the guy had an alligator in his back yard. He's a liar and he's wasting my tax dollars.

Caroline

Cutler Bay

OfNew Times: Get rid of the animals — they are not meant to be in a residential neighborhood. And as for your "cosmo" snipe at Cutler Bay, it was unwarranted.

Brian

Cutler Bay

Find Her Already!

Love Lilly: Finally! Francisco Alvarado's September 21 story "Missing Peace" has given Lilly Aramburo's case the attention it deserves.

What happened to this girl? There has to be an answer, and it's the job of police to find it! Why is it that some cases get all the attention and others do not? If money and status are the reason, that's wrong. Everyone is important, regardless of their background. They are still someone's child, mother, and friend — a fellow human being.

If the MDPD can't handle its workload, more detectives need to be hired; bad detectives need to be fired. We should do whatever it takes to get these cases solved.

The bottom line is that it's unacceptable that more than a year has gone by and this is the first time most people are hearing about Lilly's disappearance. I hope your article will help put an end to the injustice of this case and many like it. Until then, I'll continue to pray that the day will soon arrive when we'll know what happened to Lilly.

Vivian

Miami

We Won!

Miami New Times cleaned up in its class during the Florida Press Club's Excellence in Journalism contest last week. Staff writer Francisco Alvarado took two first places, in education and minority affairs. Former staffer Isaiah Thompson also nabbed two firsts, in sports feature and health writing. Another former staffer, Tamara Lush, came in first in public safety and second in religion. Also placing were columnist Elyse Wanshel, editor Chuck Strouse, and former staffer Janine Zeitlin.

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